From Wall Street Journal bestselling author Ilsa Madden-Mills comes a new standalone romance about a flawed hero and the woman he can’t forget.“She crossed my path and changed my whole direction.”He called himself Spider. I just knew him as the sinfully gorgeous guy with eyes of fire that fate sat next to me on the airplane. I didn’t know who he really was…British rock star…my stepbrother. He … who he really was…British rock star…my stepbrother.
He kissed me because he thought we’d never see each other again. We would.
Everyone warned me about him.
They told me he was ruthless and cold and screwed up.
They said he’d leave me with a hole in my heart.
Maybe I should have listened.
Maybe I should have built up a fortress to keep him out.
But I crumbled instead.
They say an unbreakable thread connects those who are destined to meet. If that’s true, then the moment he sat next to me, we were bound together forever.
He just had to figure it out before it’s too late…
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Spider is a stand alone but a character from a previous book and he was a character that really stood out. The characters and circumstances of that book are not mentioned here. This step-brother rocker, second chance is told in dual POV which I really love. Being in both characters head is the best.
I loved the beginning of this book, it was tragic, heartbreaking, clever and wonderful. Rose and Spider are both at really horrible places in their life but make a brief lasting connection. There is a time jump and they meet again by chance and that chemistry is still there but their timing is horrible. She’s just starting out in life and he’s on the brink of a huge career that’s not helping with his teetering sobriety. Decisions are made and Spider breaks Roses heart, leaving her behind. There were strong feelings and good storytelling here. I would have liked to see some of Spiders life in the band on the road and his broken heart and non-coping as well as some of Rose and her bestie Oscar in NYU. This feels like a missed opportunity for some excellent character development. There’s another time jump and they bump into each other again. This time he’s ready to be who he’s always wanted to be and she’s not buying it. But then she is and they’re back together like nothing ever happened accept it did. Four years with a steady boyfriend should keep Rose from falling into bed with Spider. She’s not the same strong character that she was at eleven or even at seventeen. Spider has been a stand-up guy all along even when he was breaking her heart. They’re in love and they eventually work things out giving me my HEA. I’m just not entirely thrilled about how they got there. I enjoyed Oscar very much thought he was a wonderful character.
Original review: https://myshelfbooks.wordpress.com/2018/06/10/spider-ilsa-madden-mills/
I think I have already said over here that I’m not a fan of the New Adult genre. But I keep trying over and over again. Should I take the hint already that this genre is not for me? Naaaaaaaah… I know that sooner or later I will read a New Adult book that I will really enjoy. Spider is not that one. Quite the opposite, actually.
This book is about Rose, a 16 yeras old girl who has had a very difficult childhood; but has been adopted into a rich family. On the other hand, we have Spider; a rebel rock star. His presence means trouble. He doesn’t have the best relationship with his father, but he is forced to meet his father’s new wife and stepsister. Yes, Rose is his stepsister (as every avid Romance reader should have guessed by now). The attraction between those two comes fast and with a fury. Rose is easily awed, but Spider has a huge commitment issue. Due to Spider’s problem with drugs and alcohol, the parents are not very fond about those two becoming something and try to break them.
I must admit that I don’t like either of the main characters. Rose is obsessed with the idea she has of Spider and Spider… He is a drug and alcohol abuser. That should be a big warning sign for very decent person to stay away. And it should be even a bigger sign for Rose. Her mother was killed by an alcoholic boyfriend who one day took too much… How can Rose tell his foster family that she doesn’t care about Spider’s problem? It doesn’t make any sense. In that moment I realize that Rose was incapable of judging with a clear mind what she wanted when Spider was around. Scary. Am I suppose to support the main character of the book? Because I’m not going to. I’m with Rose mother all the way in that matter.
And Spider… The guy that loves Rose SO much that he accepted 500.000$ to ignore her… An act of love according to him. And it seems that Rose bought his explaining, because they end together several years later. I must aslo admit that I have a huge problem with smokers… Those characters always need to work extra hard to get my respect. I’m not too annoyed about Spider being one, except when he states that he is a long distance runner… As if his damaged lungs could endure that… Luckily, the author doesn’t write him smoking very often, so I can give Spider a pass. What I can’t understand is Rose saying that she likes his smell… smoke and all. It’s gross and it makes me angry that that smell is considered sexy in the book.
What about the love story? you may ask. I would answer: What love story? That is not love… is obssesion and infatuation. I don’t feel they are a real couple… just a bunch of crazy hormones unleashed. I even like way more Trenton than Spider as the love interest. The author tries to make him a villain by the end of the book, but I’m not buying it. I feel he has cared much more about Rose than Spider has… and he deserves a happy ending, too.
There is nohing worse in Romance that not liking the main characters of the book. That is the case with this book penned by Ilsa Madden-Mills. That issue is something common with New Adult novels… at least the ones I have read. I haven’t enjoyed this book. At least it’s a short one.
Spider and Rose ….leave your misconceptions at the door this is not your average step-brother romance.
The moment I began this book I knew that these characters would crawl into my heart and make me love them …..faults and all!
Spider is a journey of a young man that is on the cusp of stardom if he can just keep himself from going down the rabbit hole of drugs, alcohol and meaningless sex until he gets there. He meets a young girl and fate has now been set into play.
Rose has led a hard life. She has come to realize that the only person that will protect her is the person staring back at her in the dirty mirror. She runs from a home that is full of torment, debauchery and the constant loom of sexual abuse . She realizes one night in the midst of a storm in the house and outside that it is time to save herself.
Rose and Spider meet as Rose is at her lowest and most scared ..the moment is brief but everlasting.
When their paths finally cross again you will love the people they have become and the witty, intelligent banter that they begin to share. I loved every twist and turn of this journey with them and even though at times my heart ached for them it is worth the ride!
~~I received an arc at no cost from the author for an honest review~~
~~Michele McMullen ~~
How can you not read this book after looking at the cover!?!
It’s been a long time since I dived into a fun fast paced new adult novel. Ilsa Madden-Mills is a new to me author and after reading this novel I’m intrigued by her writing and definitely plan on reading more from her in the near future! I loved the flow of this novel. The scenes weren’t rushed and the characters had easily relateable flaws.
Spider is a British wannabe rockstar with a few bad habits.
Rose hasn’t had an easy life but her dreams are finally within reach, the only obstical in her way is her adoptive mother…. and her new stepbrother.
Ah, I really missed the stepbrother trope and Spider was the perfect novel to jump back into a trope that I used to love so much!
Now the difficult part of my review… Why did I drop a star? I dropped a star because I felt in certain instances towards the ending there was some unnecessary drama. I was loving this book until Rose had a sudden character change. She went from a girl that has been stepped on and put down since she was a little girl to a vindictive woman by one single decision. This choice she made had me hating her and not feeling the least bit sorry for her.
Overall, Spider was a page turner! This is a novel I definitely recommend!
So many times this past week I’ve wanted to jump into my Kindle and hug and love on certain characters, just so they knew someone was there for them, Spider included. Silly I know, since these are fictional characters, but still…Spider needed a little tender loving care and I would have happily volunteered as tribute. Alas, there’s no red or blue pill available to actually transport me into a fictional world so I was left having to just read his story and hope that all would be well.
Having read the short, short story in the Beaus & Arrows anthology that this book is loosely based on, as well as having met Spider in Filthy English, I couldn’t wait to see what Ms. Madden-Mills had in store for him. And I was not disappointed. From the very start I knew I was in for something special with Spider and Rose, and that feeling never changed. This is more than just a story, it’s a journey of two people with an unshakable bond that time and distance can’t break. It’s a tale of heartache, redemption, and growth. And I just loved it.
Spider and Rose are such endearing characters, both with pasts that left a lot to be desired. A connection was forged early on and even with all they’ve had to face that connection never waivered. Sweet and genuine, and yes, at times a bit frustrating, their story is one that will be sure to grab at your heart.
I was in Step Heaven!
I loved everything about this book! Rose & Spider are two souls who were just destined to be and their journey was amazing to experience.
Rockstar and stepbrother in one?! Wall Street Journal best-selling author Ilsa Madden-Mills has written a cross between the famous and musically inclined book boyfriend and the forbidden and taboo book boyfriend, in Spider and the result is so much hotness!
Rose and Spider’s lives intervene several times throughout each other’s lives, as young children and when they get older. Too bad she didn’t recognize him before she kissed him on that plane. Now she is in over her head and everyone, including Spider is warning her away. But it seems that fate has others plans, and you can’t fight destiny, right?
British accent, a Rockstar, I’m in. Forbidden romance, oh boy we just upped the stakes! Loved this book! There really isn’t much to say besides that. I mean this isn’t a book where someone has a secret or a past. This isn’t a dark read. The only thing about this one is that Spider is her sort of stepbrother, but not really.
My favorite thing about this book, besides the hot rocker with an accent, is that these two are meant to be. Fate keeps pushing them together. Obviously, they needed to stop fighting it. And when they did, whoa mama!!! Hot and steamy, flames were practically flying out of my kindle.
This is one of those stories that develops over years, which makes it believable in terms of time frame, kinda. I mean it is a fictional romance so it’s never going to be completely believable in those terms. I love the romances that start to develop when the characters are younger and don’t really understand the connection that they have to each other yet. Then when you see them again a few years later the connection has grown, along with their attraction. It makes the feelings seem deeper and capture my heart in a way that a insta love romance just can’t, no matter the situations and pasts presented.
I really have nothing left to say except read it, it’s awesome! FIVE stars!!
This book wins the best first kiss award in my world! Wow! Loved it, the characters were so well written i couldn’t keep my hands off this book!
Loved Spiders Story
I chew on my bottom lip. “You don’t care who you hurt to avoid feeling anything, which probably means you’ve been hurt in the past. You have demons.”
This book was nothing like I expected. I wanted to read Spider because I love Ilsa Madden-Mills and couldn’t wait for a new story. After reading the blurb, I wondered what I might have gotten myself into.
I’ll admit, once I fully grasped that I had read the word “stepbrother” in the blurb, I wasn’t sure I had made the right decision. So often stepbrother romances aren’t something I feel comfortable with once the story gets going. I get that it’s not technically “wrong,” but some stories feel a bit too familial for my liking, and that’s just not something I enjoy.
Let’s begin with Rose. We meet her as a young girl, struggling to survive. She endures some extremely hard times, but somehow manages to make it out not only alive, but without losing herself in the process. What I love the most about Rose, is her best friend Oscar. He is HILARIOUS!
“What would I do without you?”
“You’d be considerably less stylish, and you’d be hungry.”
I grin. “I’d have more money though.”
“Who needs money when you have me?”
Spider doesn’t come into the picture until one fateful day at the airport, when Rose and he are seated together on the plane. Although this seems to be a beginning, Rose quickly learns that it isn’t what she thought. Then, upon arriving in the airport she quickly learns she may be seeing more of Spider than she wanted …
For me, this wasn’t the typical “stepbrother” romance. At no point did I feel like things crossed a line, and the events of the story were never stagnant or simply centered around a physical attraction. The group of characters presented was quite varied, and offered a lot for us, as readers, to analyze and process. I enjoyed not only the story itself, but seeing the characters progress and grow as they moved through life.
Definitely some unexpected turns. If you’re an Ilsa Madden-Mills fan, definitely give it a shot. As for the rest of you, this was a good read, so if you’re in the mood for something new — here it is!
Welcome back step-brother romance trope… my have I missed you. Spider by Ilsa Madden-Mills is a modern take on Jane Eyre and my oh my was it delicious.
“Let’s get one thing straight, stepbrother, your sexy little accent won’t work on me.”
Spider was something special, he was a bad boy with a heart of gold, basically my crack when it comes to heroes. I can’t resist this in my books add in his British accent and I am a total goner! Rose had a rough childhood and was taken in as an orphan and was treated more as an accessory than a person. Even with all she went through she was still a strong willed woman.
For as much as I enjoyed this story, it wasn’t really what I thought I would get going into it. I expected dark and angsty and while it did have these bits, Spider, overall didn’t have the feel I expected.
I loved watching Spider and Rose overcome their many obstacles, I wanted to pump my fist in victory! I wanted to strangle each of them out of frustration. I enjoyed seeing Spider grow into a man and get cleaned up. I loved the steamy scenes and the OMG moment with things went down! I was so stunned, I didn’t see it coming.
Over Spider was a deep read and I enjoyed immensely.